


Mortal Friends

by messy_spammy_18



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Girl Power, Homer - Freeform, Homeros | Homer (c. 8th Century BCE) References, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Oh My God, One Shot, The Iliad, The Iliad References, The Odyssey - Freeform, The Odyssey References, chimera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27842251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messy_spammy_18/pseuds/messy_spammy_18
Summary: This is my first fic, so go easy on me I tried my best.Annabeth was starting to get worried. Percy and Leo hadn't come out of the museum for a long time, and she was getting the sinking feeling that something bad had happened to them. She put on her Yankee's cap and pushed open the door.Livy likes the think she is your run of the mill mortal, but meeting a goddess in the subway doesn't really fit in with that image. Athena wants Livy to Annabeth on a quest and won't take "no" for an answer. Shenanigans and battles ensue. Why does Annabeth need a mortal's help? Why can Livy see through the mist?
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Livy. I think she is an interesting way of expanding PJO and HoO lore.

In two-three, hold two-three, out two-three. Repeat.

As the train slowed, Livy felt the tug of inertia in her stomach. She, along with everyone else in the car, swayed in unison as the old machine shuddered to a stop. The disembodied voice of the subway spoke, “34th St Herald Square Subway Station.” _It’s simple_ , she thought to herself, _just walk through the doors_. _You can do this_ , and with that, she gave herself one quick nod. Unfortunately, the mental pump-up speech was a half-second too long. She lurched forward as someone shoved her shoulder. They glanced back with a confused expression. An apology barely formed on their lips before their eyes glazed over and they turned forward again, shaking their head. More people began to head toward the door, and Livy forced her legs to start moving. “excuse me- pardon me” she whispered as she tip-toed in the unoccupied spaces of the crowded car. Despite her best efforts, she was swept up in the mob and barely kept her balance as people tried to walk through her and out the door. She wobbled her way onto the less crowded subway platform and lifted her hands above her head, flexed her wrists, and pointed her fingers to the side, “and she sticks the landing!” This prompted a small smile to cross her lips, but she shouldn’t indulge herself for long. She was already late.

Livy quickly scanned the station. After years of training, her eyes easily found the exits, entrances, and possible blind spots for an attacker to lurk in. Her eyes landed upon a woman in front of the subway map. Her face about two inches from the colorful lines, her lips moving as she read the name of each stop. The woman’s long brown coat, whose color reminded Livy of reindeer, made her seem shorter, but Livy noticed that had to stoop slightly to get her eyes level with the map. Under the coat, she wore a white sweater with plaid pants. If Livy didn’t know any better, she would have thought that the woman was a lost, but very put together professor. Livy half walked half jogged over. In her head she retained the poise of walking combined with the speed of jogging, but, in reality, just looked like a fool.

She locked out one arm above her head and waved, “Hey Athena!”

The woman looked away from the map, her eyes taking a moment to focus on something that wasn’t so close to her face. Her gray eyes lit up and she flashed an easy smile. “Ah, there you are Livy.” Her voice smooth and warm like cream, “I’m afraid I just can’t navigate these strange tunnels.”

“It’s okay!” Livy blurted, “I know. That’s why I came to you! The nearest station to the Empire state and all”

There was that smile again. Livy couldn’t help but mirror it. “You are such a clever girl. I knew it was the right choice to choose you.”

“Hm?” Livy raised her eyebrows and blinked a couple of times, “Chose me for what?”

“Why a quest of course! My daughter needs someone like you to be there, and you are just the warrior they need to win.”

“With all due respect- don’t you have people better suited to the job? People, whose parents are- you know- not mortal?”

“Olivia,” There she was with the full name, acting like she was Livy’s mom or something. Granted, Athena was very much like Livy’s mom if you ignored the whole god thing. “I know you don’t like it, but I want you to go.”

“Are you crazy? I might die!” That is what Livy wanted to say, but that kind of argument wasn’t going to work when talking to a Greek who thinks death in battle and Elysium are the highest honor. No. Livy was going to have to weasel her way out of this one. _Maybe I could pretend to have a heart attack and die right here. No- stupid- think of useful things._ She wracked her brain. How do you fight the argument of “I said so”? Well, that was easy. Hit her with the good old _you're not my mom_. “With all due respect, I’m not a part of your whole Greek god and demigod business. I’m not your kid, I don’t go to your camp, and I definitely don’t go on your quests.” There was a sinking feeling in Livy’s gut. She wasn’t much of a people pleaser, but when talking to a god- it made her want to puke. She rubbed her sweaty hands against her shorts and silently thanked the gods that she didn’t wear a gray t-shirt. In two-three, hold two-three, out two-three.

The goddess’s gray eyes darkened, and the smile vanished. “It’s too late Olivia I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Wh- What?” Livy spluttered. Her eyes frantically darted around the station, trying to find the detail she overlooked. The platform distorted like heat waves as her eyes fought to see through the mist. “Is this some kind of trap?”

The goddess grabbed her by the shoulders, “You can’t talk your way out of this one Livy. You may be cunning, but I’m the goddess of clever.” With that, Athena spun her around. Livy squeezed her eyes shut and felt the magic grab hold of her body. When she completed her 180-degree turn, she hesitated to open her eyes. The chaotic noise of the subway was replaced by silence, and the air no longer smelled of gasoline and subway rats. _Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore._

When Livy opened her eyes, she was standing in a huge rectangular room with large Greek columns and arches on either side. She recognized the design on top of the pillars as ionic, at least her freshman history class wasn’t a complete waste. The arches above them revealed a balcony and second floor. The room looked familiar, but whatever used to be there was gone and was replaced by- a goat?

Livy was staring into the rectangular pupils of a goat, but the thing hadn’t seemed to notice her. In fact, its blank eyes didn’t seem to notice anything at all. _Nothing to see here just a regular mortal, who is going to walk away like she didn’t see anything._ She shifted her gaze downwards and looked at its rear end. _Had someone put this goat’s neck on backward?_ A hissing noise filled the room, and a shiver of fear ran down her spine. The goat had a snake for a tail, and it was staring right at her, flicking its tongue menacingly. The monster’s huge body began to move, and Livy gasped as the lion’s head turned to face her. Its jaws started to open, and she counted the seconds before its gigantic maw locked out and bellowed an earthshaking roar.

Livy was already running through different plans in her head. _Think fast or die faster_ is what her dad always said.

Just like when she saw Athena in the subway, she locked one arm above her head and waved in her friendliest manner. “Hey! Just a regular mortal over here. I’m very sorry to have intruded, I’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy.”

The lion’s head tilted slightly as it regarded her. “You don’t smell like a demi-god, but you don’t smell mortal either.” His voice was higher pitched than Livy had imagined, a tenor rather than the rumbling baritone she had expected. His tone gave her some confidence. _Outsmarting this guy will be a piece of cake. Who said three heads are better than one?_ The lion continued, “I was told to capture all of the demigods. I guess since you aren’t one you can go. If you see another one can you tell me?”

“Another one?” Livy echoed. She cringed inwardly. Now she had to save someone. Before, she could have walked away, but knowing someone was in trouble… Well- she couldn’t just leave them. “You already caught a demigod? That’s pretty impressive!”

The lion nodded, his pride oozing off of him like congealed milk. He puffed out his chest. “I caught 2 demigods!” He nodded, obviously very satisfied with himself and more than happy to share. “And one of them happens to be Percy Jackson, that brat who killed me- what 7 years ago?”

 _Percy Jackson._ That was a name she did not want to hear. That guy always got himself into the biggest trouble. Angering Zeus when he was twelve? Check. Destroying New York and killing Kronos? Check. Battling Gaea and pretty much every giant ever? Check. The guy was a black hole of trouble and now she was caught in his gravitational pull. “The son of Poseidon? He must have been a tough catch, how did you do it?” She shifted her weight onto one hip and crossed her arms. As she did so she heard a faint _clink_ as her bracers knocked together. She looked down at her body, but it was the same as it has always been. Her dark blue athletic shorts and faded pink T-shirt, appropriate for the July heat. She closed her eyes and focused on the weight of the armor on her body. The feeling was so natural no wonder she didn’t notice it sooner. Apparently, along with the godly transport, Athena took the liberty of outfitting her in all of her war regalias but somehow kept it invisible.

“Oh, it was nothing” The lion purred. He followed her relaxed stance and sat back on his goat legs and settled in for the story. “He came in with a son of Hephaestus. It didn’t take a genius to know who the weak link was. A little distraction was all I needed to hit the Hephaestus boy with a little paralysis venom.” The snake hissed and snapped in a demonstration. Livy lifted her eyebrows and nodded appreciatively. The lion seemed pleased by this and continued, “It was simple from there, I threatened the boy’s life and Jackson folded like a lawn chair.” Livy nodded again. _Maybe I underestimated this guy just a little bit._ She lifted her hands in a placating gesture, “I hope you understand if I doubt that you captured the Percy Jackson without showing a little proof, you know?”

The lion bobbed his head, “Of course my dear, follow me.” Livy kept her distance as they walked through the marble halls. Everything looked so familiar, but she just couldn’t place it. Maybe Athena scrambled her head with the warp jump. The frustration made her brain itch.

“Here we are” The Chimera hummed. Livy sucked in her breath a little too fast and inhaled some spit. She tried to hold back her cough, but her body seized, and did her best to retain whatever dignity she could.

“I know,” the lion said. “I couldn’t believe it either.”

Livy blinked the tears from her eyes and looked again. The room was filled with skeletons. Giant skeletons, with necks 20 feet long and whose heads nearly touched the two-story ceiling. Her gaze drifted down to the skeleton before her, she stared into its empty eye sockets and gulped. Sue, the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world. She was at the Field Museum in Chicago, a very long way from her home in Manhattan.

She soon spotted two bright orange lumps, which she quickly recognized as the demigods the Chimera was talking about. They definitely weren’t conscious, but they didn’t seem to be bleeding either. She grimaced as she looked at the skeleton above them. Another T-rex, but this one had its head low to the ground, and its tail high in the air to counterbalance the weight. Livy knew it would be leaning over a felled stegosaurus, but the boys lying there made it look like they were the prey about to be eaten. _This is not good._ She thought to herself. Escaping with the two boys all by herself was an impossibility. She couldn’t carry both of them, and she couldn’t beat the Chimera in square one and on combat. _Gods, what I going to do?_ She put on her best smile. _Talk, it’s what I do best._ “That’s amazing! Surely whoever you work for will be pleased!” She said, pouring as much enthusiasm and adoration into her words as she could.

The lion opened his mouth to respond, but his pupils contracted, and his nostrils flared. The goat bleated and the snake hissed, “sssss! tricked! There is a demigod here!”

Livy quickly distanced herself from the Chimera. She glanced over at the boys and saw Percy’s arm limply raise into the air as if pulled by a string.

The lion roared. “I smell you daughter of Athena! but why can I not see you?”

Percy’s body was pulled into the air like a puppet on strings and he rested in a fireman’s carry on invisible shoulders _. This must be the daughter Athena wanted me to help,_ Livy thought _._

In a well-practiced movement, Livy grabbed her shield from her back and strapped it to her left arm. Just a quickly her right hand reached over her shoulder and drew her sword from its scabbard. To draw back the Chimera’s attention she brought together her sword and shield in a metallic _CLANG,_ and her armor appeared in a dramatic whoosh.

The bronze glowed so brightly that Livy had to squint for a moment. Forged by Hephaestus himself, the armor was speckled with stars and shone just as brightly. On each heel a silver guard shined.

“Hey! Fat, stupid, and ugly! Over here! You were talking to me!”

The lion’s head turned to look at her and it growled. “That armor! Achill-”

Livy gave her best battle cry and charged at him. A one on one with a monster built for combat was suboptimal, but she only had to buy some time for the daughter of Athena. She stayed close enough to the Chimera to keep him engaged, but just far enough to stay out of the reach of his snake tail, or huge front paws.

“Silly little fly come closer so I can bite you!” the snake tail hissed.

Livy’s breathing became more ragged, she wasn’t used to wearing all of the armor. She usually just wore the bracers and shin guards. Wearing the whole thing was for more ceremonial occasions, and right now? Overkill. She always thought the celestial bronze brought way too much attention. Under the strain of battle, the helmet made her neck ache and the thick chest plate weighed her down, causing her thighs to shudder. She stole a glance and saw that Percy had resumed his place under the T-Rex. _Where did she go?_ If the Athena girl turned tail, Livy had no hope of coming out of this one alive.

Suddenly the lion roared, and a gash opened up along his side. Livy let out a haggard, yet relieved, breath. The Chimera twisted and turned searching for the invisible girl. While it was distracted Livy charged and thrust her sword into the Chimera’s heart. The creature exploded in an epic cloud of dust, then drifted away into nothingness.

Livy put away her sword and shield and the armor disappeared off of her body. Must have been another “gift” from Athena. Livy let herself take a minute to catch her breath. Suddenly a blonde girl popped into existence 20 feet away and rushed toward Percy while stuffing what looked like a baseball cap into her pocket. Livy followed. The boys groaned and the blonde put one of Percy’s arms around her neck and hauled him to his feet.

“Wake up seaweed brain!” She chastised, but there was worry on her face. She looked back at Livy who started picking up the other boy.

“Thank you” she breathed, “I’m Annabeth.”

Livy stared back into the gray eyes, “I’m Livy. Your mom sent me to help you.”

The other girl nodded. “Thank you, Livy, our ship is in the front. You can’t miss it.”

Livy grabbed the other boy’s legs and carried him piggyback toward the door.

Annabeth followed a couple of steps behind. “That armor you had on back there. Are you a descendent of Achilles?”

Livy glanced back with an excited smile, “you think I look like Achilles?” It’s not every day someone thinks you look like the perfect physical incarnation of man. The adrenaline from the fight and meeting new people gave always made her talkative. “yeah, no. I get that a lot. But I assure you I’m 100% mortal. But I’m still useful! I mean, Athena was very adamant that I come here.” She grimaced as she remembered the trap the goddess had set for her.

Annabeth studied Livy. They were both around the same height, 5’6”, and seemed the same age as well, 18-19 years old. Livy wasn’t as lean as Annabeth, but she wasn’t overly stocky either. She seemed sturdy, like in the way a boulder seems sturdy if you try to push it. Livy’s face was a warm tan, too dark to be Caucasian, but she didn’t have any easily identifiable features associated with other ethnicities. Match that with her straight dark brown hair and brown eyes, and this girl could be anyone. Maybe she was just a regular mortal. Then Annabeth’s looked at the girl’s legs. They were chorded with muscle, but a pink scar wrapped her left thigh, just above the knee. She gasped as she realized.

Livy turned back toward Annabeth. The goddess had gotten what she wanted. Livy’s fate was caught in the tangled net that was Percy Jackson. She gave Annabeth her best smile. “Descendent of Odysseus, at your service.”


	2. Tied down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn more about Livy and how she works inside PJO and HoO lore. With an expanded cast of characters including Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Rachel. The seven is all here, and Rachel cause she is interesting and deserves a bigger role.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was in my brain so I decided to put it in words. It's not a lot of words, but I don't have a lot of brains so the math checks out. Technically, the writing is not good but I think the content is interesting. Also, don't come for me with the poem, I took one semester of poetry in high school just cause I liked the teacher, and it shows.
> 
> Also, special thanks to GroverUnderDaHood for giving me a Kudos I could kiss you (in the figure of speech kinda way. Maybe a hug- or a firm handshake- let's go with a crisp high five- that seems right)

“You’re a descendent of Ulysses?” Jason asked after Annabeth recounted their fight in the museum.

“well-” Livy began, but was cut off when Piper hissed, “It’s Odysseus! You don’t want to make her all schizophrenic, do you?”

Livy let out an uncomfortable laugh, “It’s okay! I’m not affected by the Greek and Roman shift. The Greeks and the Romans both agree on the events of Odysseus’s life. He was born, ruled Ithaca, fought at Troy, sailed home, died. They only differ in their perceptions of him.”

Annabeth nodded, “To the Greeks, he is a strong leader and clever tactician, which makes sense because he was so integral to winning the Trojan war. To the Romans, Ulysses is evil and manipulative, which also makes sense because he devised the Trojan horse which brought about Troy’s downfall.”

Livy nodded, “You got it. In the end, he is still the same guy.”

“Are you sure you don’t have an evil twin or something?” Leo was sitting up in the sickbed and was looking much better after some ambrosia. Annabeth gave him a stern look and he looked away, “Never mind.”

Livy felt awkward. Her “new girl” position was painfully obvious and made her feel like the sore thumb. “If it makes you more comfortable you can call me Lissa. Everyone in my family used to have two names, one Greek and Latin, but now that we all speak English it doesn’t really make sense to do that anymore. It was my grandma who insisted that we keep the tradition.”

“How did you get the scar on your leg?” Hazel blurted, then looked away shyly, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“How about we stop interrogating Livy and let her get some rest,” Annabeth said sternly.

“Oh no, I’m fine” Livy wanted to get all of their questions out of the way. If she didn’t answer them now, they would probably be suspicious of her later. “I got it falling off of my bike.”

“It’s just a coincidence that it’s right above your knee?” Leo pointed out, “It’s just like in the story.”

Frank gave Leo a quizzical look. “Don’t act so surprised that I read a book!” The boy said indignantly. Frank shrugged and looked away. “Odysseus totally mercs those suitors at the end like a total badass!” Leo gestured wildly.

The killing of the suitors was Livy’s least favorite part of the book. It was difficult to know your ancestor was the cause of so much bloodshed. “Yeah. It’s kind of a sick way that fate marks us the bloodline of Odysseus. Everyone in the family gets it one way or another. My dad got his when a man tried to mug him. It's a nasty business really.” _Hopefully killing a bunch of people is not something fate decided to pass down to me._

“Well thank you for saving us.” Everyone looked over as Percy propped himself on one arm. Annabeth was instantly at his side, helping him up. She nodded, “Yes, thank you. I don’t think I could have gotten them out of there by myself.”

Livy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. _It’s not like I really had a choice._ “It’s no big deal,” Livy said. “So, what did the Chimera want anyway? Athena kind of said ‘I want you to help them.’ Then plopped me in the museum.”

“Gods it’s the absolute worst!” Percy said, with so much vitality Livy was taken back. “It looked like we were finally going to have one summer off. I was so looking forward to actually having a ‘summer vacation’ in the Argo.” Percy only just got up, but he already oozed power. Livy could see it now, she understood why all of the monsters feared and coveted his strength. _So this is a son of Poseidon,_ no wonder the gods agreed to have no more children if they were like this. The threads of fate were so thickly woven around him she could tell that she was already caught.

Livy snapped out of her reverie. “That’s my ship!” Leo said, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

A red-haired girl entered the room. “Hey guys,” she said in a melodic voice. “We will be arriving at the camp in 15 minutes.”

Piper hopped up, “Rachel! Meet Livy, she is a daughter of Odysseus.”

Livy rose and crossed toward the girl. “Well, more like great times a thousand granddaughter, but yeah.” Rachel gave her a warm smile and Livy prayed that the heat she felt in her face wasn’t showing. She held out her hand for the girl to shake.

The girl took her hand, “Pleased to meet you” Suddenly her face went slack, and Livy tensed in confusion. Rachel’s eyes glowed green, and smoke began to swirl around them.

“N-no!” Livy said in a strangled cry. She felt like fate’s strings were wrapping around her neck, cutting off her air. Her body shook as terror and adrenaline gripped her heart.

_Wanderer, your Odyssey awaits, on the ship with crew of eight_

_find the face upon the gate, and he who holds the heart of hate._

_Mend ties the day that you create, when the moon’s a silver plate_

_Feast upon the stony slate, death will come clean and straight_

_Her apatite must you sate, else the world incinerates_


End file.
